Neotectonic mapping of Puerto Rico
Seismica
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Abstract
Puerto Rico is part of the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands microplate, along the Caribbean–North American plate boundary between the Puerto Rico trench subduction zone and the Muertos Trough incipient subduction zone. Despite recent seismicity and geodetically constrained deformation of ~3 mm/yr of left-lateral shear across the island, Quaternary fault locations remain largely uncertain. Preservation of recent faulting in the landscape is masked by distributed faulting, high weathering rates of the tropical climate, steep topography, frequent landsliding, and extensive agriculture and urbanization along coastlines and river valleys. We present remote neotectonic mapping of historical aerial imagery from the 1930s-60s and <1-m lidar topography, integrated with field observations, to create an updated active fault map of Puerto Rico. We focus on faults that offset younger geomorphic surfaces, with ages estimated by geologic mapping, OSL and radiocarbon dating, and morphologic interpretations. We present new evidence for Quaternary activity on seven faults, including the South Lajas, Salinas, Punta Montalva, Great Southern Puerto Rico, Cerro Goden, Parguera, and San Marcos faults. We find that active faulting occurs preferentially along the southern and western coasts and does not always spatially coincide with preexisting bedrock faults, possibly reflecting partial reactivation of older faults in the modern strain field.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Neotectonic mapping of Puerto Rico |
| Series title | Seismica |
| DOI | 10.26443/seismica.v3i1.1102 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication Date | September 11, 2024 |
| Year Published | 2024 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | PKP Preservation Network |
| Contributing office(s) | Geologic Hazards Science Center - Landslides / Earthquake Geology |
| Description | 34 p. |
| First page | 1 |
| Last page | 34 |
| Country | United States |
| Other Geospatial | Puerto Rico |